The Storyteller Tour: Stories in the Round was the fifth headlining concert tour from American country music artist Carrie Underwood. The tour is in support of her fifth studio album Storyteller (2015) and began on January 30, 2016, in Jacksonville, Florida. It concluded on November 28, 2016, after 92 shows. For the shows in the United States, $1 from each ticket sold will be donated to Underwood's C.A.T S. Foundation. This was her first tour in three years. The tour sold over 1.2 million tickets during its run. By June, 2016, Billboard had named the number-one country tour of the first half of the year.
Underwood released a concert film, Carrie Underwood: The Storyteller Tour - Stories in the Round, on November 17, 2017.
Background News of the tour was first mentioned in a Rolling Stone interview in September 2015. The tour was officially announced on October 27, 2015, via Underwood's Official Fan Club website. "Stories in the Round" comes from this being Underwood's first tour where the stage is 360 degrees and in the middle of the arena floor. Underwood shares her excitement for the tour stating; I can't wait to play new music from Storyteller for the fans. I am so blessed to have this career and get to do the things I do, but there is nothing like that moment when I get to step onto the stage to sing and all the fans are singing along with me. The second leg was announced on March 31, 2016.
Concert synopsis Moments before the show starts AC/DC's "Back in Black" is played. Then the lighting structure above the stage descends to the floor of center stage where Underwood and her band emerge. She starts off with "Renegade Runaway" a new track off Storyteller followed by "Last Name" that contains bits of her duet with Miranda Lambert, "Somethin' Bad". The setlist consists of new and past favorites, and covers. For the encore she closes with "Smoke Break" and "Something in the Water".
Stage design and production The 360 degree center stage of three circles is equipped with movable parts that allows Underwood and her band access to below the stage where they can change outfits or swap out instruments. The three tier lighting structure displays lyrics and colors and moves, rotates, and twists. In addition there are sparkles, fireworks, lasers, smoke and explosions, and a big light show. Underwood's goal was to harmonica for "Choctaw County Affair", which she reached. Drums were added during "Church Bells" in the fall leg.
Opening acts Easton Corbin & The Swon Brothers Lauren Alaina, Jill Johnson & Pauper Kings Little Big Town, Sam Hunt & Maddie & Tae
Setlist The following setlist is from the January 30 show in Jacksonville, Florida. It is not intended to represent all dates throughout the tour.
"Renegade Runaway" "Last Name" / "Somethin' Bad" "Undo It" "Good Girl" "Church Bells" "Cowboy Casanova" "Heartbeat" "Jesus, Take the Wheel" "Wasted" "Blown Away" "Two Black Cadillacs" "Dirty Laundry" "Choctaw County Affair" "I Will Always Love You" "What I Never Knew I Always Wanted" "Fishin' in the Dark" "Clock Don't Stop" "All-American Girl" "Little Toy Guns" "Before He Cheats" Encore "Smoke Break" "Something in the Water"
Notes From March 4 to 16, "What I Never Knew I Always Wanted", "All American Girl", and "Fishin' in the Dark" were temporarily cut from the set list. Additionally, "Flat on the Floor" and "Chaser" were temporarily added. Starting on August 31, a cover of Alabama's "Mountain Music" replaced "Fishin' in the Dark".
Tour dates + List of concerts, showing date, city, country, venue, opening acts, tickets sold, number of available tickets and amount of gross revenue Date City Country Venue Opening acts Attendance RevenueNorth America Leg 1January 30, 2016JacksonvilleUnited StatesJacksonville Veterans Memorial ArenaEaston CorbinThe Swon Brothers13,581 / 13,581 $865,536February 1, 2016DuluthInfinite Energy Arena11,574 / 11,574$776,244February 3, 2016GreensboroGreensboro Coliseum10,760 / 10,760 $727,460February 5, 2016LouisvilleKFC Yum! Center13,613 / 13,613 $897,128February 17, 2016PittsburghConsol Energy Center11,768 / 11,768 $797,198February 20, 2016HamptonHampton Coliseum10,277 / 10,277 $680,672February 22, 2016PhiladelphiaWells Fargo Center12,562 / 12,562 $867,962February 23, 2016BostonTD Garden16,786 / 16,786 $1,076,169February 25, 2016Washington, D.C.Verizon Center13,124 / 13,124 $899,315EuropeMarch 4, 2016StockholmSwedenHovetLauren AlainaJill JohnsonPauper Kingsrowspan="2" rowspan="2" March 5, 2016OsloNorwayOslo SpektrumMarch 11, 2016GlasgowScotlandClyde Auditorium Little Big TownSam HuntMaddie & Tae5,842 / 5,985$742,990March 12, 2016LondonEnglandThe O2 Arena36,152 / 50,832$3,516,500March 13, 2016DublinIreland3ArenaNorth America Leg 2March 17, 2016YoungstownUnited StatesCovelli CentreEaston CorbinThe Swon Brothers6,645 / 6,645$492,360March 19, 2016AllentownPPL Center9,012 / 9,012$629,892March 22, 2016Auburn HillsThe Palace of Auburn Hills13,771 / 13,771$892,996 March 24, 2016St. LouisChaifetz Arena9,626 / 9,626$666,656March 26, 2016LincolnPinnacle Bank Arena14,964 / 14,964$904,074March 29, 2016Colorado SpringsBroadmoor World Arena7,935 / 7,935$542,490March 30, 2016DenverPepsi Center12,830 / 12,830$841,100April 1, 2016Las VegasLas Vegas Festival GroundsApril 5, 2016FresnoSave Mart CenterEaston CorbinThe Swon Brothers9,534 / 9,534$676,344April 8, 2016RenoReno Events Center6,234 / 6,234$475,939April 10, 2016OaklandOracle Arena9,775 / 10,375$715,339April 12, 2016StocktonStockton Arena8,145 / 9,109$552,900April 14, 2016PhoenixTalking Stick Resort Arena12,815 / 12,815$829,160April 16, 2016Las CrucesPan American Center10,582 / 10,582$687,352April 18, 2016San AntonioAT&T Center9,918 / 10,666$690,558April 22, 2016Bossier CityCenturyLink Center10,883 / 10,883$737,228April 24, 2016LafayetteCajundome9,474 / 10,089$615,582April 25, 2016HoustonToyota Center9,684 / 10,624$677,934April 27, 2016TulsaBOK Center14,627 / 14,627$915,842April 28, 2016North Little RockVerizon Arena9,171 / 9,171$635,166April 30, 2016IndioEmpire Polo ClubLee Ann WomackChris StapletonThe Band PerryMay 3, 2016MadisonKohl CenterEaston CorbinThe Swon Brothers11,886 / 11,886 $773,376May 5, 2016Green BayResch Center9,358 / 9,358$651,358May 7, 2016Grand ForksRalph Engelstad Arena11,205 / 11,205$721,680May 10, 2016CasperCasper Events Center 6,395 / 7,507 $435,500May 12, 2016BillingsRimrock Auto Arena 8,771 / 9,855 $612,026May 15, 2016Kansas CitySprint Center 12,131 / 12,131 $815,966May 17, 2016RosemontAllstate Arena 15,761 / 15,761 $1,028,181May 18, 2016ClevelandQuicken Loans Arena 12,270 / 12,270 $815,190May 24, 2016BuffaloFirst Niagara Center 14,355 / 14,355 $907,410May 27, 2016OttawaCanadaCanadian Tire Centre 10,467 / 10,467 $713,228May 28, 2016TorontoAir Canada Centre 17,499 / 17,499 $1,121,200May 30, 2016LondonBudweiser Gardens 9,628 / 9,628 $632,121June 10, 2016NashvilleUnited StatesNissan Stadiumrowspan="6" rowspan="6" rowspan="6" June 18, 2016CadottChippewa Valley Festival GroundsJuly 22, 2016MonticelloGreat Jones County FairgroundsJuly 29, 2016Sweet HomeOregon JamboreeJuly 30, 2016DuncanCanadaCowichan ValleyJuly 31, 2016CamroseCamrose Camping GroundsNorth America Leg 3August 31, 2016AnchorageUnited StatesAlaska Airlines CenterEaston CorbinThe Swon Brothers 4,304 / 4,304 $504,280September 4, 2016SpokaneSpokane Veterans Memorial Arena 11,389 / 11,389 $727,474September 6, 2016BoiseTaco Bell Arena 8,276 / 9,476 $547,292September 8, 2016SeattleKeyArena 9,905 / 10,448 $681,068September 10, 2016San JoseSAP Center 8,335 / 8,819 $606,713September 13, 2016BakersfieldRabobank Arena 7,910 / 8,652 $548,570September 14, 2016Los AngelesStaples Center13,274 / 13,274$921,093September 16, 2016San DiegoValley View Casino Center7,216 / 8,140$517,752September 20, 2016DallasAmerican Airlines Center13,271 / 13,271$888,335September 22, 2016NashvilleBridgestone Arena14,005 / 14,005$932,078September 24, 2016ColumbiaColonial Life Arena 11,350 / 11,350 $750,190September 26, 2016RoanokeBerglund Center 5,350 / 6,034 $372,960September 28, 2016ProvidenceDunkin' Donuts Center 7,805 / 8,988 $574,178September 29, 2016ManchesterSNHU Arena 8,843 / 9,727 $615,059October 1, 2016HersheyGiant Center 10,560 / 10,560 $716,610October 4, 2016IndianapolisBankers Life Fieldhouse7,768 / 7,768$573,156October 5, 2016MilwaukeeBMO Harris Bradley Center6,685 / 6,685$493,238October 7, 2016Des Moines Wells Fargo Arena12,451 / 12,451$845,735October 8, 2016Sioux FallsDenny Sanford Premier Center11,472 / 11,472$796,824October 11, 2016SaskatoonCanadaSaskTel Centre9,287 / 9,287$682,138October 13, 2016EdmontonRogers Place9,776 / 9,776$747,337October 15, 2016WinnipegMTS Centre10,187 / 10,187$770,159October 17, 2016Saint PaulUnited StatesXcel Energy Center14,714 / 14,714$961,143October 20, 2016CincinnatiU.S. Bank Arena11,332 / 11,332$756,382October 22, 2016CharlottesvilleJohn Paul Jones Arena7,834 / 7,834$562,593October 23, 2016CharlotteSpectrum Center7,121 / 7,121$533,150October 25, 2016New York CityMadison Square Garden17,815 / 17,815$1,362,263October 27, 2016AlbanyTimes Union Center9,904 / 9,904$673,774October 28, 2016UncasvilleMohegan Sun Arena6,338 / 6,338$481,120November 6, 2016HamiltonCanadaFirstOntario Centre9,077 / 10,317$662,273November 9, 2016RockfordUnited StatesBMO Harris Bank Center6,600 / 6,866$492,870November 11, 2016EvansvilleFord Center9,886 / 9,886$696,117November 13, 2016MemphisFedExForum9,321 / 10,201$643,656November 14, 2016BirminghamLegacy Arena11,475 / 11,475$749,490November 16, 2016TampaAmalie Arena13,271 / 13,271$891,365November 17, 2016SunriseBB&T Center10,340 / 10,340$738,990November 22, 2016Wichita Intrust Bank Arena10,000 / 10,747$711,720November 23, 2016Oklahoma CityChesapeake Energy Arena11,306 / 11,912$798,117November 26, 2016Las Vegas T-Mobile Arena9,794 / 10,633$699,513November 28, 2016West Valley CityMaverik Center10,738 / 10,738$761,211Total887,675 / 919,783 (97%)$58,814,104
List of festivals and other miscellaneous performances, rescheduling These concerts were a part of C2C: Country to Country. This concert is a part of the ACM Party for a Cause Festival. The Houston concert was supposed to take place on April 19, but was rescheduled to April 25 due to severe weather. This concert is a part of the Stagecoach Festival. This concert is a part of the CMA Music Festival. This concert is a part of the Country Fest 30th Anniversary. This concert is a part of the Great Jones Country Fair. This concert is a part of the Oregon Jamboree. This concert is a part of the Sunfest Country Music Festival. This concert is a part of the Big Valley Jamboree.
Reception In November 2016, Billboard reported the tour to have earned around $54.6 million with 800,000 tickets sold, with four more shows that had not been added to that total. This marked The Storyteller Tour as Underwood's highest-grossing tour to date. According to a document from The Smoking Gun, Underwood was contracted to earn $500,000 per show.
Scott Mervis of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says, "As she's not much of a talker, this was not a "Storyteller" tour in the sense of narrating the show with stories. She let the music and character-driven lyrics do most of the talking, at max volume." Tampa Bay Times'''s Jay Cridlin said that Underwood packed "nearly two dozen hits into an overpowering set that felt a whole more like arena rock than a country bar." Also, "Underwood alone remains the one with the voice and ambition to go full pop star, unleashing the full force of her roaring band and singing like a woman ready to take the wheel back from Jesus."